GANTA, Nimba County – Superintendent Kou Meapeh Gono has sharply responded to a recent media report claiming that Nimba County officials were involved in the illegal removal of ArcelorMittal Liberia’s scrap assets, allegedly leaving local communities out.
By S. Kannay Ziamo, Nimba County
The report stated: “Community members in Nimba have pointed accusing fingers at Superintendent Kou Meapeh Gono and Nimba District 8 Representative Saye Sylvester Mianah, claiming they are behind the unauthorized removal of the scraps. These communities fear that without proper controls and with instructions from top county leaders, they are not assured of fair development dividends.”
However, in her response, Superintendent Gono expressed her surprise at seeing a reputable media outlet report a story “in ways that are not reflective of the facts” and criticized the report for showing little or no regard for journalistic ethics.
Supt. Gono explained that, as the head of Nimba County’s administration, she, along with the Superintendents of Bong and Grand Bassa counties and the County Caucuses of the three AML concession counties, was invited to Bong County in May and presented with donation documents for the scraps within their respective counties.
“Sometime in May, Superintendents and Caucus members of the three concession counties were invited to Bong County by ArcelorMittal to receive donation letters for the scraps in our counties,” she said.
Supt. Gono continued: “In the past, this company [AML], which has operated in the counties for nearly twenty years, would donate scraps, and various vendors would handle the mining of the scraps. But this time, during the government transition [CDC and UP], my predecessor signed documents on November 22nd, after the elections, hurriedly signing an MOU. Elements within the company made decisions out of fear of the changing government.”
According to Gono, parts of the donation note “undermined their roles and functions as local government officials.”
The scraps were given as a goodwill gesture through a donation, but the company sought to control the procurement process. Part of the guidelines in the donation document stated that “ArcelorMittal will source the vendors to procure the scraps and several other things,” a point that local leaders objected to on the grounds that it would usurp some of their functions as local leaders of the counties.
Following the meeting, according to Superintendent Gono, she wrote to AML expressing her concerns about the company being responsible for sourcing vendors for the scraps in Nimba, but the company failed to provide a definite response.
“It is my understanding that the vendor they [AML] tried to secure was outside of the meeting. The expiration to remove the scraps was on October 12, 2023, and the next step was to assess the total amount of scrap deposits. However, the company began avoiding us because the issue of choosing a vendor or controlling the procurement process was not concluded,” Supt. Gono stated.
Based on the company’s alleged refusal to respond in time to the county’s communication, a procurement committee was set up “in line with the PPCC procurement process,” according to Supt. Gono.
Providing clarity on the specific scrap deal in District 8 reported recently by some media outlets, Supt. Gono indicated that the scrap deposit in the district was given to the citizens of the district exclusively and was not part of the scraps donated to the county.
“However, according to the Scrap Committee, apart from this donation in District 8, there were scraps given to the people there, and they asked us to conduct their bid, which was done, and a vendor was chosen,” the Nimba County Superintendent explained.
She stated that a bid was conducted, and a company called KWADO Scrap Metal, Inc. was hired as the vendor for the scraps in District 8.
Madam Gono stressed that reports of citizens raising concerns over financial matters related to the scrap transaction are fabricated, noting, “The stakeholders were there, the community people and all their representatives, including the County Scrap Committee, were present during the process.”
“The weight bill had not even been sent to the county central office, let alone a check being released. How can someone say a month of investigation shows that the people are worried?” Supt. Gono wondered.
She emphasized that such reports against the county have the potential to damage the reputation of its leaders and scare away potential partners who might want to do business with the county. She maintained that the money for the District 8 scrap transaction has yet to be released, and no citizen of the area is dissatisfied as reported.
For his part, the Commissioner of Meinpea Mah Administrative District, Jefferson Saye Gondah, confirmed that the Nimba Administration introduced a company to the district as the vendor for the scraps.
“The county informed us that ArcelorMittal had given us the scrap and introduced a company to us as the one that won the bid for the scrap,” Commissioner Gondah stated via telephone.
Commissioner Gondah added: “They [county administration] told us that when the scraps are sold, seventy percent (70%) will be for us [the district], and thirty percent (30%) will go to the county administration for administrative purposes.” He maintained that he could not confirm if the money for the scraps had been sent to the county, as he had been out of the district for some time.
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